Foreign Language Specialized School (Vietnamese

Vietnamese language

Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...

: Phổ Thông Chuyên Ngoại Ngữ), commonly known as FLSS or CNN, is a national public magnet high school

Magnet school

In education in the United States, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities as school zones that feed into certain schools.There are magnet schools at the...

 in Hanoi

Hanoi

Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...

, Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

. A part of Vietnam National University, Hanoi, the school is one of the three national gifted high schools in Hanoi, the other being HNUE Gifted High School and Natural Science Gifted High School. Currently, FLSS is Vietnam's only high school specializing in teaching foreign languages (including Chinese Mandarin

Standard Mandarin

Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....

, English, Russian, French, German, Japanese and Korean). Similar to other nation-level magnet high schools, FLSS is recognized for its strong academic programs and for its large percentage of graduates attending prestigious universities in Vietnam and abroad.

Admission to FLSS is by competitive examination only, which consists of four subjects: foreign language, advanced foreign language (for applicants of English and French), mathematics and literature. One of the most selective high schools in Vietnam, FLSS had an acceptance rate of 10.8% for its 2012 freshman class.

A student from FLSS is referred to as a CNNer.

History

Foreign Language Specialized School was founded in 1969 by a decision from the head of Ministry of Education and Training

Ministry of Education and Training, Vietnam

The Ministry of Education and Training is the government ministry responsible for the governance of general/academic education and higher education in Vietnam. Vocational Education is controlled by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs . Ministry offices are located in central...

 with direct administration from College of Foreign Languages

College of Foreign Languages

University of Languages and International Studies is one of the six colleges that comprise Vietnam National University, Hanoi. The school offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in pedagogy and linguistics of Arabian, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Russian and Thai...

.

• In 1994, FLSS was awarded the third degree Labor Medal from Vietnam Central Government.
• In 1998, College of Foreign Languages designated Nguyen Thi Chi, Ph.D. as the school's first headmistress.
• The school was continuously awarded Labor Medal's second degree in 1999 and first degree in 2004.
• In 2007, Le Thi Chinh, Ph.D. was appointed as FLSS's second headmistress.
• In 2008, FLSS was awarded National Labor Union Award and Prime Minister
  Prime Minister of Vietnam
  -Office:The Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is the head of the executive branch of the Vietnamese government. The Prime Minister presides over the Vietnamese cabinet, and is responsible for appointing and supervising ministers...
  
  's Honor.
• The school celebrated its 40th anniversary in the 2009 fall semester.

Curriculum

The school offers six foreign languages in its curriculum. Russian

Russian language

Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

, English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 and Mandarin Chinese were its three initial linguistic subjects before 1980-1981 semester. French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

, German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 and Japanese

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

 were added afterward. Students are arranged into classes specializing in one primary foreign language. From 2008-2009 semester, two foreign language courses (one specialized and one elective) are required for FLSS students. Since the 2009-2010 academic year, Korean has been added as another elective foreign language, along with Chinese, English, French and Japanese.

Clubs

• CNN Shine - community-based activity club
• Team CNN Leaders - leadership development group
• CNN FC - association football club
• Diao - basketball club
• CHR - baseball club
• CNN English Club
• CNN Chinese Club
• CNN French Club
• CNN Music Club
• CNN Rock Club
• CNN Dance Club
• Green Heart - environmental protection club

Activities

• Ten Plus - freshmen orientation program
• Homecoming
• October 20: Vietnamese Women's Day
• November 20: Vietnamese Teachers' Day
• Lunar New Year
• CNN Can Cook - annual cooking contest celebrating International Women's Day
• CNN Charm
• Night of FLSS Colors (formerly Language Ball) - annual cultural show
• Natural and Social Sciences Fair
• CNN Champions Cup
• Gratitude Ceremony
• Sports' Day
• Prom

Awards

• Labor Medal third degree in 1994
• Labor Medal second degree in 1999
• Labor Medal first degree in 2004
• National Labor Union Award in 2008
• Prime Minister's Honor in 2008